In describing his Ninth Symphony, written for mixed chorus and orchestra, composer Hans Werner Henze explains, "What happens in this symphony is an apotheosis of terror and pain. It is a summa summarum of my creative output, the attempt to come to terms with the assaults of an arbitrary and unpredictable world. A German reality, this symphony is above all an expression of enormous respect for the people who dared to resist in the time of Nazi-Fascist terror and who gave their lives to defend freedom of thought." The symphony's libretto is by Hans-Ulrich Treichel after the novel "The Seventh Cross" by Anna Seghers. This definitive recording features Henze specialist Marek Janowski leading the Rundfunkchor Berlin and the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra.